Friday, 31 July 2015

The East MacDonnell Ranges, as the name
implies, lie to the east of Alice Springs and while less well known than the popular
West Macs, are well worth a visit.

We based ourselves at the Ross River Resort
campground located about 90km east of Alice Springs. From there we were able to
access Trephina Gorge, N’Dhala Gorge and Ruby Gap Nature Parks and the Arltunga
Historic Reserve.

The ranges are geologically complex, scenic
and interesting and support a diverse range of habitats and plant communities.
In addition to natural history there is human history, including petroglyphs
(rock engravings possibly ranging in age from 10,000 to 2,000 years old) and mining
history at Arltunga (gold) and Ruby Gap (gem stones). The historic Ross River Station
homestead building is well worth checking out.

Trephina Creek and Trephina Bluff, a
classic central Australian watercourse with sandy bed and River Red Gums (E camaldulensis) clinging to the banks.

The ranges support a high diversity of
plant communities and plant species along with associated fauna.

Petroglyphs.

Sign explaining the meaning of the
above rock art.

Largest known Ghost Gum.

Ghost Gums (Corymbia aparrerinja) are an outstanding feature in the MacDonnell
Ranges landscape. This particular gum at Trephina Gorge Nature Park is the
largest known specimen in Australia and is measured at 33 metres high with an
estimated age of 300 years. This tree is listed in the Northern Territory
Register of Significant Trees and is registered in the National Register of Big
Trees.

Flood debris high in Red Gum, Trephina Gorge.

Rainfall in this very arid part of the
driest continent on earth is highly unpredictable and when a whole years rain
falls in a day or two the results can be spectacular. The flood debris high in
this Red Gum in the bed of Trephina Creek shows just how spectacular these rare
events can be.

Conditions were generally good with many
shrubs in flower however it was dry and birds were scarce away from the
watercourses and gorges. We saw White-backed Swallows hunting along side Little
Woodswallows in Trephina Gorge and also just above the gorge Black-faced
Woodswallows.

In addition to the ever present
White-plumed Honeyeaters we also saw Grey-headed and Brown plus Singing and
Spiny-cheeked. There were lots of Mistletoebirds and mistletoe, especially in
the acacias. Apart from a few Nankeen Kestrels and Brown Falcons no other
raptors, apex predators, were sighted which confirmed the general low number of
birds in the area.

The highlight bird species was a small
flock of Spinifex Pigeons (Geophaps
plumifera) we came across on the drive out to remote Ruby Gap. For me these
birds are endearing, almost comical, with their rakish tall sandy crests and dumpy
bodies. They are perfectly coloured to match the red rocky, grassy, spinifiex
dominated terrain where they are so often found. The group was beside the track
in rough acacia scrub on rocky ground with a grassy understory. No doubt they
were feeding on grass and wattle seeds.

Most of the flock moved away into the scrub
but a few lingered on rocks to see what the vehicle with the camera lens poking
out of the driver’s window was doing, and they luckily stayed, posing nicely
for some photos.

There are two races of Spinifex
Pigeon, race plumifera with white under parts and race ferruginea with rusty-buff
underparts.

While eating lunch in one of the two
Trephina Gorge camp grounds on the banks of Trephina Creek below Trephina Bluff
(see first photo above) we were entertained by two adult and one juvenile Pied
Butcherbirds that came in to do the rounds of the camp ground scrounging any
food left by the campers. They were very bold and are clearly used to people - plus
they knew the camp routine well.

A couple had just set off for a walk from
their campsite when we pulled in and the Butcherbirds arrived soon after. They
picked up a good number of scraps in and around the camp and especially near
the camp table. When they finished that site they moved on to the next. They
also hung around us, no doubt hoping we might feed them a few morsels from our
lunch.

Under the tables scrounging for scraps.

This adult Pied Butcherbird flew to a
slender shrub near where we were eating lunch. The camera was ready to capture
the moment.

From Ross River we headed back to Alice for
a couple of days to get ready for a week out at Newhaven.

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Olive Pink Botanic Gardens (OPBG) is a must
visit location in Alice for birders and anyone interested in inland native
plants – see this link: http://opbg.com.au/history/

The gardens are an especially good place to
reliably see Western Bowerbirds and possibly Grey-crowned Babblers. We found
both species and had a very enjoyable time late one afternoon observing and
photographing both at close range.

Male Western Bowerbird displaying at
bower.

First, some photos of a pair of Western
Bowerbirds at a bower.

The bower under a mulga tree. The
large pile of sticks at both ends can be clearly seen including some choice
white objects on display.

Inside the bower are a few more
objects including a nearly circular flat stone and a green quandong fruit.

While watching them, the male first spent
time collecting small sticks and leaves to build up the area around the actual
bower. The large mound of sticks helps support the larger bower sticks in an
upright position, it would be impossible for the bird to fix the bower sticks
in the hard ground. The mound also provides an area on which the male displays
to the female while she stands inside the bower and for the placement of
collected objects.

Male stick collecting for the bower
mound.

This was about a bill full.

He soon left off stick collecting and
commenced a protracted display with the female standing inside the bower. This
was punctuated by brief sessions of feeding by both birds near the bower.

The following photos show the male
displaying, which entails a range of moves including harsh calls now and again
and picking up food matter and a green Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) fruit while the female is standing in the
bower to the right.

I could not see the female's reactions but assume the she was impressed, she stayed in the bower for the whole of the performance.

We also crossed paths several times in the
gardens with a small band of Grey-crowned Babblers. They are very social birds,
like Choughs and Apostlebirds.

Grey-crowned Babbler having a drink at
a leaky pipe.

Searching for food under bark. They
usually feed on the ground.

Searching for food on the ground where
they often dig vigorously in the soil.

I caught this pair on a car looking at
their own reflections in the windscreen.

A quick look at the photographer and they were off.

Finding birds in settings such as the
OPBG’s or around camp and picnic grounds is often good for both bird observation
and photos as the birds do not see humans as a threat and their FID (flight
initiation distance) is accordingly much shorter than for locations where
humans are uncommon. On the other hand the birds’ behavior may be somewhat
unnatural in these settings.

From Eyre Creek we travelled north on the
Eyre Development Road through Bedourie, stopping for fuel but not staying for
the camel and pig races. Next stop was Boulia where we took on food and fuel
for the trip west via the Plenty Highway to Alice Springs.

For the first 250 km of the trip to the
Qld/NT border, the road is called the Donohue Highway and then in NT the next
500 kms to the Stuart Highway is called the Plenty Highway. For the 750km crossing
there are sections of sealed road but mostly it is gravel of various types and
condition, ranging from good to not so good but nothing really ugly. The Plenty
joins the Stuart Highway 70 kms north of Alice Springs.

The journey takes you through relatively
flat cattle country most of the way with some attractive rocky ranges towards
the western end, outliers of the MacDonnell Ranges. While recent summer rains
had generated some grass growth, the grass by mid July was now dead and the
soil, water holes and creeks were dry.

We took two and a half days for this crossing
with two overnight bush camps. Fuel, basic food supplies and some camping is
available at cattle stations and Aboriginal communities along the way. We
elected to be self-sufficient and took all our own food and fuel. It pays to
take reserves of fuel, food and water in case of unexpected delays rather than
rely on fuel supplies from stations – we have found in the past that fuel is
not always available as advertised.

Signage at the start of Donohue
Highway near Boulia. There is a push to have a road from Cairns in Queensland
through Alice Springs to Laverton in WA.

Sign with distances to cattle station
between Boulia and the Qld/NT border.

Outback roads can suddenly close due
to rain. It pays to keep a close watch on weather forecasts for rain to avoid
being trapped on a remote road unable to go forward or back until the road
dries out.

Photo of our iPad mini GPS navigation
system showing a section of the Channel Country and Donohue Highway. The iPad
has detailed HEMA maps loaded, which give incredible detail, linked by
Bluetooth to a GPS receiver (the receiver we use is used by airplane pilots and
is very fast and accurate).

Travelling west from Boulia in Channel
Country, the main river crossed is the Georgina which eventually discharges via
other rivers to Lake Eyre. Further west the rivers such as the Hay and Plenty
drain south into the Simpson Desert, the largest sand ridge desert in the world.

Georgina River crossing.

The Plenty Highway runs east west roughly
along a divide between the Barkly Tableland to the north and the Simpson Desert
to the south.

Vast flat treeless plains are common
at the eastern end of the Plenty Highway. The plains are punctuated by watercourses
supporting acacia on the smaller drainage lines and eucalypts on the major
rivers.

Beginning of the Plenty Highway at the
NT/Qld border.

We encountered a number of eucalypts
in flower, species unknown – it could easily be a Corymbia species, and at this
location Black-faced Woodswallows were feeding on the nectar and no doubt taking
any insects that they came across which were also attracted to the profuse
flowers.

Some of the Black-faced Woodswallows feeding
on nectar.

Birds were coming and going.

At first I thought the Woodswallows
were foraging in the flowers for insects thinking they were insectivors and not
also nectar feeders. This one may have an insect in its bill or just flower
stamens?

On closer inspection I think there is
no insect, only stamens.

The bird under observation soon
departed for more flowers elsewhere. It does not pay to stay in one place for
too long and risk becoming a meal for a raptor.

The road passes through mostly Mitchell
grassland however there are a few sections of spinifex country with large
termite mounds built by termites that specialize in consuming spinifex.

A large termite mound beside the
Plenty Highway – an impressive structure given the size of an individual
termite.

Here is a section of broken off mound
showing galleries full of harvested spinifex stems.

Campsite near Injerrabonna Water Hole.

One of a number of
Yellow-throated Miners, a very common species in outback Australia, found along
the bone dry Injerrabonna Water Hole.

Our second and last camp on
the Plenty was at the start of the now closed Cattlewater Pass track in a
designated fossicking area. I have no idea what people were fossicking for there
however the area coincided with a mature and very attractive Gidgee woodland
where we found Singing, White-plumed and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, Rufous
Whistlers, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Red-capped and Hooded Robins.

Campsite just off
Plenty Highway on start of Cattlewater Pass Track in mature Gidgee woodland.

We have encountered Hooded
Robins in good numbers in most places we have stopped from Sturt NP to Alice
Springs. This species is now declining in Victoria where it was once more
numerous and widespread. It does seem to be very well adapted to arid inland
Australia.

Female Hooded Robin

Male Hooded Robin.

Hooded Robins have the same
hunting technique as many other robins that take prey on the ground. From a
perch they look intently this way and that until they spy a suitable food item
and then dive down and capture the food. Then they fly up, usually to another
nearby perch, and resume the process over again.

Same Robin as above
still looking for food on the ground from the same perch.

From the Cattlewater Pass
Track camp we soon found ourselves on the Stuart Highway with at first no speed
limit and then a 110km/hour limit. Our maximum speed on the dirt roads was
around 80 km/hr and our average below 70 km/hr, so even 100 km/hr seemed fast.

We travelled south crossing
the Tropic of Capricorn again. Arriving in bustling Alice Springs was a minor
shock to the system after a couple of weeks of remote dirt roads with few
vehicles and very small outback towns with very few people. We have been to
Alice several times since our first visit in 1975 – there have been many
changes since then, both to Alice and ourselves, including our mode of travel
which was very basic back then and fairly high tech now.